Iceland supermarket ends decade-long trademark battle with Iceland and offers ‘rapprochement discount’
The UK supermarket chain Iceland has formally ended its decade-long legal battle with the Nordic nation of the same name, drawing a line under one of Europe’s most unusual trademark disputes and promising a goodwill gesture to Icelandic consumers.
The frozen food retailer confirmed it would abandon further legal action after suffering its third defeat in European courts last year. Instead of continuing the costly dispute, the company plans to use funds earmarked for further litigation to offer what it has described as a “rapprochement discount” to shoppers in Iceland.
Richard Walker, the executive chair of the supermarket group, said the decision marked a pragmatic end to a legal fight that had stretched for nearly a decade and consumed significant time and resources.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Walker said the company would redirect the money that would have been spent on another legal appeal toward offering shopping vouchers to Icelandic consumers, which they could use in the retailer’s stores.
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